Bio-psychology Flashcards
(27 cards)
What does the Nervous System do in relation to behaviour?
Collects, process and responds to information from the environment. It also regulates the organs and cells in your body.
What is the CENTRAL Nervous System made up of?
The brain and the spinal cord.
What does the brain do in the CNS?
It is the centre of awareness, decides complex decisions, maintains life of the primitive areas.
What does the spinal cord do?
It relays info in between the body and brain,
Can control certain nerves to do things not involving the conscious brain,
But any damage to it will stop any further relays
What is the peripheral nervous system and what does it split into?
They are the nerves outside the CNS and transits messages between the brain and body. It splits into the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.
What is the autonomic nervous system?
A sub section of the peripheral nervous system, it operates without the need of the conscious and regulates factors like breathing, heart rate, digestion, sexual and stress response.
What is the somatic nervous system?
It’s main job is to send messages and signals to the brain via neurons as well as controlling the muscles.
What does the sympathetic nervous system do (autonomic sub section)?
It increases bodily activity and helps deal with emergencies with use if the fight or flight.
What dies the parasympathetic nervous system do (autonomic sub section)?
It decreases and maintains bodily activity and relaxes the body after emergencies (such as the fight or flight, rest and digest).
What are neurons for?
Neurons are specialised cells whose function is to move electrical impulses to and from the CNS.
When do neurons transmit signals chemically and electrically?
Electrically - WITHIN the neurons.
Chemically - BETWEEN the neurons.
What is the process of neurons sending signals off each other?
Dendrites receive signal - along cell body and axon - presynaptic neuron - SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION - vesicles release neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) into synapse - neurotransmitters go to receptor sites - post synaptic neuron.
What is an excitatory and inhibitory effects neurotransmitters going to other neurons?
Excitatory - Excitatory potentials have a positive charge and make it more likely the post synaptic neuron will fire. I
Inhibitory - Inhibitory potentials have a negative charge and make it less likely to fire.
Describe sensory neurons purpose.
They carry nerve impulses caused by the environment from sense organs (eyes, ears, skin etc), they go to the brain and spinal cord where they are converted to a sensation, some stop at the spinal cord and create reflexes.
Describe a relay neurons purpose.
Located in the brain and spinal cord, they lie between sensory and motor and help them to communicate with each other.
Describe a motor neurons purpose.
Located in the CNS, they control the muscles and they form synapses with the muscles, which when stimulated they release neurotransmitters which bind to receptors and trigger muscle movement.
Give me the definition of the endocrine system.
It is a network of glands that manufacture and secrete chemical messengers known as hormones.
How do hormones deliver themselves?
Through blood vessels.
What does the pituitary gland do?
Also known as the ‘master gland’, it produces stimulating hormones to target specific glands to secrete their own hormone.
What does the hypothalamus do?
It receives information about functioning and regulates it by producing ‘releasing hormones’ secreted to the pituitary gland.
What are the two parts of the ADRENAL gland and what do they do?
Adrenal cortex - outer layer - it has a role in stress response but mainly is necessary for life functioning, such as cortisol for cardio vascular and anti-inflammatory functions.
Adrenal Medulla - inner layer - ‘fight or flight’, it increases heart rate and blood flow. Noradrenaline constricts blood vessels causing adrenaline to increase.
What are the two REPRODUCTIVE organs and what do they do?
Testes - produces testosterone and plays a key role in the developments of male reproductive tissues.
Ovaries - produces oestrogen and progesterone which controls the menstrual cycle.
What is the definition of the fight or flight response?
The fight or flight response is an evolved survival mechanism to deal with threatening situations.
What is the process of the fight or flight?
The amygdala perceives the threat and what we are experiencing with what emotion (eg - seeing with scared, hearing with anger) and sends a signal to the hypothalamus. Hypothalamus communicates with the rest of the body through the sympathetic nervous system which has two mechanisms, Acute Stressors (sudden) and Chronic Stressors (ongoing).
